CNN "Western components on North Korean missiles attacked by Ukraine"

Western parts have been detected in North Korean missiles attacking Ukraine.

Citing Ukrainian military officials, CNN reported on the 23rd that Russia fired about 60 KN-23 missiles into Ukraine this year, and parts believed to have been manufactured in the West were found in the debris of the missiles.

CNN said the fragments of the KN-23 shown by officials have identified electrical networks apparently manufactured or designed in the U.S. and Europe.

The Independent Anti-Corruption Commission, a Ukrainian non-governmental organization, said a recent report showed key components used in North Korean missiles were produced by nine Western manufacturers, including companies based in the United States, the Netherlands and Britain.

In particular, the report analyzed that some parts of KN-23 and KN-24 were produced around 2023.

"Everything that induces missiles and makes them fly is foreign parts," Andriy Kultzhitskyi, head of Ukraine's military research center, told CNN. "The only thing that is North Korea is the metal that rusts and corrodes quickly."

Weapons experts said it was unclear how these parts entered North Korea, but raised the possibility that China might have been involved.

"It's the Chinese companies that are known as the last managers" of some of the parts that have been successfully tracked, said Damian Splitters of the Conflict Army Research Institute, a British arms watchdog.

"Some of the parts may be counterfeit products from China," noted Victoria Bischniuska, senior fellow at the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission.

In fact, a manufacturer provided evidence to the committee that low-cost electronic components found in North Korean missiles were counterfeit, CNN said.

Some point out that intermediate distributors, not manufacturers, may be at the heart of the problem.

Most of the electronic components in North Korea's missiles are sold to five major distributors based in the United States and Canada.